First Day at Universal

OK, the first few days were incredibly busy, and it's taken me a few days  actually clue you all in on exactly what went on.  Sorry about that.

Now, I'd never been to Universal Orlando before, so this was a bit new.  There are two separate areas of Universal, Studios and Islands of Adventure.  We had purchased the equivalent of a "park hopper" (yeah, I'm so Disney indoctrinated that I can only explain theme parks in their terms).  This is so that we could not only experience both halves of the "Wizarding World of Harry Potter" but so that we could ride the Hogwarts Express ride between them.

Anyway, arrived to Universal Studios after coughing up the extra ten bucks for preferred parking.  We waded our way through the crowds and got to the Hollywood area.

Where we found Shaggy driving the Mystery Machine.  I think Scooby was in there.

Then we found Mel's Diner with the white Thunderbird and a photo op for Christi. Sometime after that, we went on the ET ride, which I think I had experienced in Universal in California.  It was fun and nostalgic. 

We made our way to Springfield where a statue of Jebediah Springfield reigns.

We stopped off at the Duff biergarden across from Moe's Bar and had an early morning beverage.  Then, on to London and...

Diagon Alley where we bought our interactive wants and had a butterbeer.  There are places all over the Harry Potter area that you can activate if you find a plaque on the ground, stand on it, and wave your wand a certain way.  It was fun...and an excellent way for the park to make tons of money.

Here's the Weasley twins shop.  That was fun!  We were wandering about Diagon Alley when my brother called.  His annual pass had blackout dates during Spring Break and they couldn't come in like we had planned.  We went back out and met him at the Hard Rock, where he bought us all lunch. 

Then they went home after I made him pose with me for a photo.  This is my baby brother.

We went back in and saw some MIBs on our way back to Harry Potterland...

We then went to Kings Cross station.  This is where the Muggles were entering platform 9 3/4

And this is the Hogwart's Express.  It was totally fun!

We ended up on the Islands of Adventure side, which is Hogsmeade.  It was a madhouse! We thought it would be a good idea to come back in the morning as soon as the park opened to try to get on rides.  As we now knew the lay of the land...

So, we exited past Hogwarts...

And ended up in Jurassic Park...who knew?

Basically, we found a place to eat and visited a bunch of gift shops.  I think the only ride we did the first day was E.T.  It was back to our Disney hotel and an early night.

Arrival

This is gonna be short.  I got up around 3am Central.  It is now 10pm East Coast and I'm ready to pass out.

We got here, got the car, drove to the hotel.  They let us check in early and we went to our room.  It was raining cats and dogs, but we finally got out stuff to the room.  We decided to hit Disney Springs.

We were starving, so our first task was food

This is a lobster grilled cheese sandwich and it's the most amazing thing I ever put in my mouth.  And that is a Yuengling Lager behind it.  Happy me.

This is a magic band that I personalize and decorated because the plain one they give you wasn't good enough for me (those things are called Magibandits and they suck.  I lost one the first time I wore the thing.  I recommend you go with sliders).  Magic bands are hotel room keys, credit cards, and everything you need in the parks.

This is a silly Minnie hat I tried on because we shopped the rest of the afternoon.  We stopped once for a margarita and some live music.  Then we shopped.  Then we had gelato. Then it was 9pm and we came back to the room.

THE END

Braving Spring Break in Orlando!

So tomorrow I leave for Florida with my friend Christi to brave the insanity of Orlando during Spring Break.

Me and my good friend Pooh Bear on my birthday in 2009.  This was the first trip that started my annual travels for my birthday in April every year.

You would think I'd have sense to avoid places like that during times like this, especially since I am a single woman of middle age but nooooooooooooo.  I am meeting family, some of which are school aged children.  So, suck it up Donna and deal!

I even have an itinerary!

3/19/2016

• Roomie (who is not insane enough to vacation) drops us off at airport at around 5-ish AM
• Southwest Airlines flight departs 6:25am
• Partake of Bloody Mary on flight
• Arrive Orlando 10:03am and pick up Rental car
• Waste time....
• Check in to Disney's All Star Movies Resort (yep, staying at Disney) after 3pm
• Go out to dinner with Christi's Cousin
• Crash

3/20/2019

• Universal Studios day
• Meet baby brother and his wife and make him buy lunch
• Get back to the hotel late

3/21/2016

• More Universal
• Check out the AMEX lounge, if we haven't already

3/22/2016

• Afternoon Tea at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa at 12:10pm
• We may go back to Universal as we got a free third day on our 2 day pass

3/23/2016

• Breakfast at the Kona Cafe, Polynesian Village Resort at 9:55am
• Relax, hang out
• Dinner with (other) brother, his wife, my sister, her husband and kids 

The backside of my sister and her family when we last visited Disney World in October 2010 (a much better time to visit as there are fewer crowds).

3/24/2016

• Arrive Magic Kingdom around 8:00am (Meet the sis and family when they get there)
• Meet Tinkerbell somewhere between 9:00am and 11:30am
• Space Mountain 9:00am
• Haunted Mansion 10:55am
• Pirates of the Caribbean 12:30pm
• Lunch with Pooh and Friends at the Crystal Palace with my Sister and Family 2:15pm
• Maybe head over to Epcot in the evening

3/25/2016

• Maybe Epcot in the morning 9:00am
• Afternoon head over to Disney's Hollywood Studios
• Star Tours at 2:25pm
• Tower of frickin Terror at 3:35pm
• Dinner with Minnie and friends at Hollywood and Vine at 6:50pm
• Fantasmic! at 7:55pm
• We can stay to 11:30 with the bloody Extra Magic Hours

3/26/2016

• Check out of hotel by 10am
• I'm supposed to return car by 11, but I'll see if I can get that changed
• Arrive at airport by 5:00pm
• Flight departs 7:00pm
• Arrive Austin 8:55pm

3/27/2016

• Sleep very late

OK, pray for me and I'll check in with you tomorrow!

Ancient Times in Arizona

Today I decided to hit all of the Flagstaff area National Monuments.  There are three of them and they are all ancient sites, Walnut Canyon, Sunset Crater, and Wupatki.  Walnut Canyon and Wupatki are dwelling sites of ancient native peoples and Sunset Crater is the site of an ancient volcano that shaped the lives of the ancient peoples who lived in this area.

First, I headed a few minutes south to Walnut Canyon.  This small canyon is known for the 800 year old cliff dwellings built into the cliffs along the canyon walls.  Some are accessible by a trail around a central “island” which is a hiking trail of little under a mile.  I decided to take the trail.  It was a lovely day, if a little warm. 

After Walnut Canyon, I went back to Flagstaff and headed a bit East.  Sunset Crater and Wuptaki are on a loop off of Rt. 89 that goes through bits of Coconino National Forest and a little private land.  First on the loop was Sunset Crater National Monument, the remains of a 900 year old volcano.  The mountain range around the Flagstaff area, including the San Francisco Mountains above the city, are all volcanic.  Sunset is the most recent and the lava flows are still evident, with few trees and plants able to take root amongst the lava rock and cinders.  I took a couple of short walks through the area, but opted out of the whole Lava Flow and Lenox Crater trails.  Still, some pretty interesting sights and some fall foliage!

After a scenic drive, where there were amazing views of the Painted Desert in the distance (which didn’t really come out in photos), I made it to Wupatki National Monument, which was really a series of pretty spectacular ancient pueblos.  There were 4 along the road Wukoki, Wupatki, Citadel, and Lomaki.  I missed the Citadel because I was tired and went right past it.  Still, the others were really cool.

Wukoki is on a sandstone outcrop and is visible for miles around

Wupatki was a regional center for trade and had 104 rooms

Lomaki and the Box Canyon pueblos are typical construction for the area

While I was there, a rainbow appeared in the sky!  Back to the rental for dinner and sleeping…zzzz. Long day